Legislative page and internship programs have gotten a black eye lately, thanks to sexual scandals involving lawmakers and legislative pages that have occurred at both national and state levels in recent years.

Here in South Dakota, former state Rep. Ted Klaudt pled not guilty to 10 sex crime charges involving two teenage girls who were in foster care in his home, one of whom was a legislative page when Klaudt was in office. During the 2007 South Dakota Legislature, accusations of sexual impropriety by an 18-year-old male page against Sen. Dan Sutton led to a legislative hearing that garnered headlines and distracted lawmakers. In Washington, D.C., Congress dealt with the fallout to its own internship program from former Florida congressman Mark Foley's misuse of power.

Despite the uncomfortable climate those scandals caused, government internship programs remain a fantastic tool to provide young South Dakotans who have an interest in public policy or government service with a firsthand look at the process of governing.

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin is accepting applications now for fall internships for college students in her Washington, D.C., Aberdeen, Rapid City and Sioux Falls offices. Deadline to apply for the positions is Friday, July 27. To download an application go to her website at http://hersethsandlin.house.gov/internships.htm

Herseth Sandlin encourages young South Dakotans to apply, and so do we.

Those kind of opportunities can help launch careers that benefit not only the individuals involved, but all of America by bringing the best and the brightest into government service.

Interns, pages and their parents must use common sense and good judgment, of course, when participating in these programs. Sexual predators, as we've learned all too often, exist at all levels of power and privilege.

But the Foley, Sutton and Klaudt scandals should not claim any more victims.

It would be even more tragic if they served to prevent bright young high school and college students from taking full advantage of internship and page opportunities available to them in Washington or Pierre.